Chapter 170: Scenario Gate (4)
“Well then, I’ll tell you the way as promised!”
As we got up, that pesky fairy immediately spoke up.
In fact, this kingdom has a Secret Forest that only the citizens traverse, and perhaps there might be an exit beyond that forest that we desire.
Because “they” appeared through the forest too.
“Them?”
When the raiders asked, the fairy reacted.
“The giants.”
The fairy trembled as if it had some feelings.
“They’re bad guys. Giants love to eat fairies. And their skin is so tough! The light we use doesn’t work on them at all.”
The “light” they talked about likely refers to that Magic Missile we saw earlier—the one that pierced Seonwoo-yeon’s abdomen.
“Seriously, giants are bad? Hey! Damn it, you do the same things! You eat and hurt us, so what’s with this nonsense?”
But just then.
An analyst couldn’t hold back his anger and shouted in disbelief, causing the fairy to blink its almond-shaped eyes rapidly.
“Are you saying fairies and giants are the same? What we do is just for fun…”
“Shut up!”
“Don’t you all agree? There are no rules in games about hurting the friend who loses!”
“Even if there are, it’s just a light tap! Seriously, this is insane…!”
“Ah, please, calm down. It might not be good to annoy the fairy too much.”
The fairy seemed to not understand what was happening until the analyst was stopped by another raider.
“Different culture? Is it really different?”
But…
“I’m sorry.”
Soon after, the fairy began to sweetly apologize. We were momentarily surprised.
“I didn’t know guests hated this kind of thing.”
“Uh, uh…?”
“If you disliked it, I won’t do it anymore. Really.”
The fairy bowed its head with a somewhat teary expression, causing the awakened ones to look at each other with bewildered faces.
We never expected a dungeon monster to behave like this…
“I’ll guide you to the forest now. It’s a bit far!”
A little while later.
This wingless fairy was surprisingly courteous as we headed towards the forest.
“By the way, are you thirsty? I have some fruit. It’s sweet. I’ll share it with you.”
Aren’t you hungry? Aren’t your feet hurting?
It was being overly considerate towards its guest.
“Hmm.”
The analyst who was just furious began to speak timidly.
“If I’m not mistaken… the fairies living here seem to be quite friendly compared to other dungeon creatures.”
I agreed with that point.
“Uh, um. Fairy… can I ask you something? Is it okay?”
“Of course.”
“Do you happen to know what the Gate is? You live here after all.”
But ultimately, that was as far as it went.
The analyst, with a strong academic tendency, tried to extract some information, but as expected, the local resident knew nothing beyond its background setting.
“I don’t know.”
Every time it heard stories from outside the kingdom, it just repeated that same sentence.
I had already anticipated this would happen the moment I realized the nature of this dungeon, so I didn’t bother engaging in useless chatter.
“You guys are chatty. That’s why I like you.”
Flutter.
The wingless fairy raised its voice as if it found it entertaining, watching the persistent raiders.
Finally, we spotted the issue—the forest—within our sight.
“Uh, is this…?”
“Do you recognize it?”
“It’s the place we stopped by on the first day. It was blocked by something like a barrier, so we couldn’t get inside.”
I listened to Seonwoo-yeon while keeping my gaze forward.
A mysterious boundary encircled by dense magic. It certainly seemed difficult to pass through with ordinary means.
“To get through here, you need fairy powder! I can give it to you.”
But then.
The fairy, floating at a high altitude, approached and momentarily paused.
Hurry up and prepare the powder or whatever! Why are you suddenly standing there dilly-dallying?
“Hmm, but…”
Just as we began to wonder.
The wingless fairy finally spoke after a long silence.
“I told you where the path is, but… would you mind not entering here?”
“What do you mean?”
“As I mentioned before, this is the forest where the giants live. Giants are really scary. I’m worried about you.”
sniff.
The fairy drooped its body to express something akin to sadness.
Even hearing that, we couldn’t stop our investigation. Our home exists right outside that forest.
“Forget it, just hand over that powder.”
I wanted to leave before fatigue built up.
I pressed the fairy, wanting to leave the Gate quickly. Then the fairy replied.
“You’re quite resolute.”
For some reason, its eyes seemed a little brighter.
“Aren’t you afraid of the giants?”
Boom.
Before we could respond, the fairy clasped its tiny hands and continued.
“You seem brave. Alright then, I’ll gather the courage to do my best to guide you to the end of the forest.”
“Okay.”
“But I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“If you have the strength, could you defeat the blue giant living inside? You don’t have to agree.”
“….”
“But if you do, I will be very happy and definitely offer a reward.”
A new proposal.
The C-Class Hunter at the back was aghast, saying we should never listen to a fairy’s request again.
But I quietly decided to accept this errand.
“A giant to defeat? What do you think that would entail…?”
“A monster that eats fairies is stronger than these ones, right?”
“Oh my god, then what do you expect us to do…?”
Contrary to their concerned chatter, the fairy’s natural enemy was actually a rather trivial existence.
Just moments ago, it was stuttering during a game, yet now it was saying this—how awkward. But anyway, I was the soul of a great mage.
I could gauge the magic power of creatures living inside the forest without even entering it.
‘D-Class, perhaps. Plus, a command to hunt given from a resident.’
A rating just one tier above its normal state.
Knowing the enemy’s level meant there was no need to tremble in unknown fear, so I decided to let go of my petty tricks.
“If the giant turns out to be stronger than expected, then I’ll personally go hunting. So you guys shouldn’t worry just yet.”
Struggling to maintain an S-Class image!
I confidently stated that with a top-tier hunter present, there was no need to be afraid.
The survivors were all moved.
“Oh.”
“Hunter-nim…”
If I lured them into such naive trust so easily, it felt like I was doing something sneaky.
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, the discomfort didn’t last long.
A while later, we threw the white powder the wingless fairy shared all over ourselves and took our first steps.
What unfolded at the entrance of the forest was this scenery.
“This, this, this… what the heck?”
Crumpled plate mail.
A broken staff.
And many other items.
“It must be the giant’s doing. Seems like it left behind clothes that couldn’t be eaten!”
We soon found a bundle of magic tools—presumably belonging to a hunter.
Seonwoo-yeon examined the items and quickly confirmed the situation.
“This is the equipment of the missing Treasure Hunter Team.”
It seemed that the advance team was annihilated in this area.
‘What the heck? It’s all broken to the point of being useless.’
After checking that there was nothing salvageable among the remains, I grimaced when Seonwoo-yeon spoke up softly beside me.
“Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t this strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“The fact that the Treasure Hunter Team entered this forest means they were guided by that fairy, who’s supposed to be the only one who knows the way in the kingdom.”
But why did Apa say she had never met the Treasure Hunter Team?
Realizing the contradiction, Seonwoo-yeon tensed up. Yet I calmly shifted my stance, merely supporting her.
“Well, maybe that fairy backstabbed the raiders who went ahead.”
In a normal gate, one might commit such mischief for the sake of terror, but here, the standards were a bit special.
‘Scenario types usually avoid the death of prey unless absolutely necessary…’
It was probably a minor oversight.
I shrugged and changed the subject. After all, this wasn’t something we could find answers to immediately.
“By the way, how are you feeling? If you’re okay, why not try walking on your own for a bit?”
“Ah, okay.”
We collected traces of the advance team and continued our investigation.
This meant we were following the fairy, who was all white, exploring for the exit.
‘I wonder what planet this fairy originally came from?’
Of course, as warned by our guide, we ran into that “giant” after only a few steps.
“Huh?”
“Is that the giant?”
“Yes, it’s a giant!”
The fairy’s nemesis, fitting its low rank, bore little resemblance to majesty.
It looked almost clay-like, a clumsy square shape.
Standing barely a head taller than an Earthling, it even seemed somewhat frail in size.
“Isn’t it just so, so big? Scary, right?”
Although to the fairy, it appeared as a very large beast, well, whatever.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon.”
“Yes?”
I subtly gestured toward the direction of the giant.
“Please catch it.”
“Eh?”
“Now that I see it up close, I can tell. It’s a D-Class Monster. The analyst should clearly see that too, right?”
The owner of the emotion skill, who had mixed in among the survivors, nodded.
To think the terrifying creature from the forest turned out to be merely a low-level monster!
Woosh!
Seonwoo-yeon activated her awakening ability upon hearing our words. With a gust of wind, the giant’s body was easily severed, causing cheers to erupt from behind us.
“It’s weak!”
“Yeah, it’s a weak monster!”
“Well, considering this is EX-Class territory, it’s only natural…!”
The atmosphere brightened in an instant.
While our plan seemed to have a promising future, we couldn’t smile too broadly, as there was still an unresolved issue on our side.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter, I’m sorry, but can you keep dealing with the giants from now on?”
To disguise the counterfeit rank, I needed to minimize unnecessary actions.
Of course, I could handle monsters like that using [Hydra], but it would be too odd for an S-Class to rely solely on the power of fatal toxins.
The question of necessity? Such confusion would accumulate and eventually develop into suspicion over time.
‘For now, let’s just charm this Earthling. Hmm, I’ll disguise it as if I want to confirm how she’s using the skill I taught her…’
I wanted to assign the duty of hunting giants to the B-Class hunter beside me. But the response I received was surprisingly astute.
“Oh… is that the reason?”
“Yes?”
“You mentioned before, Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo, that your awakening ability is dangerous to use in the presence of people.”
Whisper, whisper.
Soon, Seonwoo-yeon chatted in a hushed tone as if not wanting anyone to overhear.
“But it’s true that there are many non-awakened folks here, so you’d need to be cautious.”
“Um.”
“If exposed to S-Class magic, some might even faint outright.”
She nodded firmly as she said this.
“Anyway, I’ve understood what the Hunter-nim meant. From now on, I’ll take the lead.”
Eh?
I didn’t even try any tricks yet… How did she understand everything on her own…?
In an instant, I felt relieved, but that feeling soon faded.
Suddenly, I wondered just how much I had frightened them in the past to reach a point where misunderstandings could develop without me even having to say anything.
‘Moreover, I don’t even remember when I told this fairy a lie that led her to believe this…’
I briefly mulled over this existential crisis in my life.
